EngineersGuide

EvaporationandTypesofEvaporationEquipments
ObjectiveofEvaporation:Toconcentrateadilutesolutionconsistingofnonvolatilesoluteandvolatilesolvent.

In this unit operation, the solvent to be evaporated is generally water and concentrated solution is a product. The vapour generated usually has no
value,itiscondensedanddiscarded.

Typesinevaporation:
1.Singleeffectevaporation:Thesolutiontobeconcentratedflowsinsidethetubes.Theheatingmediumissteamcondensingonmetaltubes.Usually
thesteamentersat3atmabs.andboilingliquidisundermoderatevacuum.Thisincreasesthetemperaturedifferencebetweenthesteamandboiling
liquid.When a single evaporator is used, the vapor from the boiling liquid is condensed and discarded. This is called single effect evaporation.It is
simplebututilizessteamineffectively.Toevaporate1kgofwaterfromthesolutionwerequire11.3kgofsteam.
2.Multipleeffectevaporation:Increasingtheevaporationperkgofsteambyusingaseriesofevaporatorsbetweenthesteamsupplyandcondenseris
calledmultipleeffectevaporation
Propertiesofevaporatingliquidsthatinfluencetheprocessofevaporation:

1.Concentration:Astheconcentrationincreases,theviscosityanddensityincreasestherebytheboilingpointofsolutionincreases.Theincrease
inboilingpointandviscosityreducestheratesofheattransferinevaporators.
2.Foaming: Solutions like organic compounds tend to foam during vaporization .The foam is carried away along with vapor leading to heavy
entrainment.
3.Scale: Solutions deposit scales on the heating surface .overall heat transfer coefficient drastically decreases and leads to shut down of the
evaporatorsforcleaningofthetubes.
4.Temperaturesensitivity:Pharmaceuticalsproducts,finechemicalsandfoodsaredamagedwhenheatedtomoderatetemperaturesfor relatively
shorttimes.Sospecialtechniquesareemployedtoreducetemperatureoftheliquidandtimeofheating.
5.Materialofconstruction:Evaporatorsaremadeofsomekindofsteel.howevermanysolsattackferrousmetalsandarecontaminatedbythem.
Copper,nickel,stainlesssteelscanalsobeused.

Classificationofevaporators:

Evaporation is a process of vaporization of a volatile solvent from a solution in order to increase the concentration of the solute. The types of
evaporationequipmentsare:

(1)Naturalcirculationevaporators
(a)Longtubeverticalfallingfilmevaporator
(b)Longtubeverticalrisingfilmevaporator
Theseareusedgenerallyforsimpleevaporationoperationseitherassingleeffectormultipleeffects.

(2)Forcedcirculationevaporators
(a)Forcedcirculationevaporatorwithhorizontalheatingelement
(b)Forcedcirculationevaporatorwithverticalheatingelement
Theseareusedgenerallyforsalting,viscousandscaleformingsolutions.

(3)Agitatedfilmevaporator
Themainadvantageofthistypeistogivehighheattransfercoefficientsevenwithveryhighviscousliquids.Thisisamodifiedfallingfilmevaporator.
Mechanicalagitationisusedtoreducetheviscosityofveryhighviscoussolutions.

Industryapplicationsofvariousevaporators:

Longtubeverticalrisingfilmevaporator:
Thesetypesofevaporatorsarewidelyusedinindustriesforhandlingoffoaming,frothyliquors,andusedfortheproductionofcondensedmilk

Longtubeverticalfallingfilmevaporator:
These types of evaporators are widely used in industries for concentrating highly heatsensitive materials such as orange juice, food materials etc.
whichrequireshortresidencetimes.Andusedfortheproductionofcondensedmilk.

Forcedcirculationevaporators:
Thesetypesofevaporatorsarewidelyusedinindustriesforsalting,viscousandscaleformingsolutions,andusedincrystallizingoperationsinwhichit
isnecessaryforthesolidstobeinsuspension.

Agitatedfilmevaporator:
Themainadvantageofthistypeistogivehighheattransfercoefficientsevenwithveryhighviscousandheatsensitiveliquidssuchasgelatin,rubber
latex,antibioticsandfruitjuices.Buttheseareverycostlyandwillbehavingsmallercapacities.
Recompressionmethodsusedforevaporators